4 Ways to Wear Metallic for the Holidays

A little glitz can go a long way toward getting you into the holiday spirit. But what we love most about these metallic makeup looks is that they’re festive without being too flashy. In other words, they’d be as appropriate at your holiday office party as they would at a New Year's celebration that goes into the wee hours of the morning.

Smoky Metallic Eyes

“Smoky eyes are always on trend for holiday, but instead of going for classic blacks and blues, I like to spice it up with bold, earthy tones that play up my brown, almond-shaped eyes. I want my eyes to embody fall foliage: rich, multidimensional, and layered with warm shades — metallic purple, copper, and bronze — that blend into one seamless look. If you are wearing this look, I have two failproof tips: First, keep blending! If the eye shadow looks too harsh, use your crease brush to soften it. And second, always finish off the look with a subtle highlighter and a neutral lip gloss that won’t take away from the intensity of your eyes.” —Lara Adekola, associate social media manager

Muted Metallic Stripes

“I like to keep things simple, and since metallic isn’t a look I usually gravitate toward for my makeup, I had to figure out a way to make it more my style. If you know me, you know I love gray and stripes, so I found a perfect opportunity here to add more of both to my repertoire. Using the Butter London Little Gems set of nail polishes, I picked three colors to evenly stack on my nails: Full Steam Ahead (charcoal gray), Diamond Geezer (metallic silver), and Adventure Awaits (rosy champagne). I decided to balance the majority of each of my nails being metallic with a simple gray at the base to keep them a bit more casual, then stripes of silver and champagne to add a little shimmer. It’s a more understated version of metallic that suits me perfectly.” —Amanda Bohnson, beauty assistant

Liquid Metallic Lip

“I’m of the belief that getting a liquid lip look shouldn’t be hard for anyone. So I kept things simple by applying a lip gloss that has a metallic sheen to it. To take it up a notch, I patted on a glowy, foiled eye shadow in the middle of my pout to catch the light — and add some extra oomph. It’s the lazy-girl way of nailing this trend.” —Jihan Forbes, digital editor

Prismatic Shimmer

“Usually, I like a subtle lit-from-within glow, but sometimes, I want my cheeks to have a pastel, prismatic effect — one with cool tones of pink, blue, and green that shine off of my naturally tan skin. My tip for getting this done: Don't be afraid of it! Dab the different colors from your temples down to your cheek bones (where the light naturally hits), then blend the colors together with a fluffy brush. Finish off the look with a dark, vampy lip — either a plum or a deep berry. You don’t want your lips to distract from your iridescent glow.” —Jesa Calaor, editorial assistant